Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Subaru , Toyota Hallelujah friends, hallelujah. One of the highest voices in Subaru’s parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries , has just said that the boxer-obsessed automaker will release a second generation of the lovable BRZ . Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of FHI, has summarily shot down assertions made by Tetsuya Tada , the chief engineer for the Toyota GT86 . In a recent interview with an Australian publication, Tada claimed that Subaru had not decided whether it would be involved in the followup effort to the rear-drive coupe, and even speculated that the Toyota could team with BMW for a second-gen car, instead. “If I were to be told that, I’d pass out. It’s not going to be just one generation ,” Yoshinaga-san told Automotive News. Despite this claim, even Yoshinaga confirmed that in order for the BRZ to be viable, his company needs Toyota. Should Toyota make the move to BMW as part of its joint-venture agreement, though, it’d cast some major doubts on the likelihood of a second-gen BRZ ever seeing the light of day. Subaru BRZ to get second generation, says exec originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Jul 2014 11:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Filed under: Budget , Sedan , Performance , Toyota , Australia , Rumormill Sources in Australia are reporting that we’ll be seeing a small, rear-drive sedan from Toyota , based on the GT 86/ Scion FR-S . Yes, a convertible variant is still in limbo, but a four-door sedan is in the works. It’s unclear if the rumored GT 86 sedan would spawn Scion and Subaru variants (it’s hard to cross all ten fingers while you type, but we’re having a go). Working with remarks made by the car’s chief engineer Tetsuya Tada in his blog and a rendering from Japanese magazine Holiday Auto , the Australian site Motoring is claiming that the new model’s wheelbase will grow about four inches over the current GT 86’s 101.2-inch wheelbase. Besides the larger overall space between the axles, the sedan will offer a more potent engine option over the current 2.0-liter, flat-four. Promising 268 horsepower, which is a big jump over the current car’s 200 ponies, the new powertrain will be derived from the Hybrid R setup , shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show. If, like us, you’re reaching for the salt, and we don’t blame you. Motoring seems to think the new model will be available later in 2015 or early in 2016, with pricing that should be within reach of current GT 86 owners (around 30,000 Australian dollars, or $28,371). Toyota to offer sedan version of GT 86? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:15:00 EST.

Filed under: Coupe , Hybrid , Performance , Toyota , Rumormill From what Autocar has to say, Toyota has even more plans for the GT86 beyond the convertible concept we just saw at the Geneva Motor Show . Along with a planned midcycle facelift, Toyota is reportedly looking at how to pack some extra ponies under the coupe’s hood, and while there has already been a lot of talk about superchargers and turbochargers, it sounds like a performance-boosting hybrid system could also be in the works. Talking to Toyota chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, Autocar has learned that the automaker is considering an electrical motor assist for the sporty coupe to improve performance without harming fuel economy. In attempting to keep weight – and, presumably, costs – down, the article mentions the use of a system closer to what Honda uses for its Integrated Motor Assist rather than a full Hybrid Synergy Drive system used in current Toyota hybrids. Tada says the added weight of the system could be offset by weight reduction, while aerodynamic changes and a lower center of gravity could improve the car’s handling. No word yet on whether a mild hybrid system would find its way to North America’s Scion FR-S – let alone its Subaru BRZ twin – but the thought is certainly an intriguing one. Toyota pondering high-performance GT86 hybrid? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Subaru , Toyota , Read This Because the Toyota GT86 , Scion FR-S and Subaru BRZ coupes are now a reality, it’s almost hard to imagine the struggle that had to happen within the large, conservative corporate structures at both automakers for the joint project to even get off of the ground. Speaking to those struggles on Toyota UK’s Toyota Blog , GT86 Chief Engineer Tetsuya Tada enlightens us with a recap of the sports car’s earliest origins. For Tada, the first stages of the project must have seemed almost as dreamlike as the final product is to drive. Said the Chief, “I had been working in the minivan department engineering new product, but a month after the meeting I was summoned. ‘Forget about minivans,’ they said, ‘you are now working on the sports-car project.'” The recounting of the GT86 development process makes for a genuinely interesting yarn, and is a must-read for any owners/enthusiasts of the BRZ/FR-S twins. We highly recommend clicking through to read it in full . Perhaps it’s wishful thinking, but we can’t help hoping that Tada-san has got more of the story to tell, still. We’ll be keeping an eye on the official Toyota Blog, just in case. Toyota GT86 engineer Tada recounts how sports car came to be originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Feb 2013 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Toyota Every sighting of a MkIV Toyota Supra compels a wistful pause and the rhetorical query, “Ah, Toyota … what happened?” The FT-HS concept has been adorning auto show plinths since 2007, taking rumblings of a Supra successor everywhere it went. Last December, four years of hoping out loud led to Motor Trend reporting a Supra return with a 3.5-liter V6, perhaps to be ready in 2015. For any chance of that happening, the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S needed to do well. Seven months later Toyota’s little 300-horsepower coupe is still accelerating enthusiast hearts, and in May of this year MT added hybrid mechanicals, 400 horsepower, a CVT from the Lexus RX and a $60,000 price to its earlier report of a Supra redux. A new report in Asia One doesn’t divulge details, but does make it appear that a new Supra is inevitable: at a European event for the FR-S, chief engineer Tetsuya Tada said, “The president (Akio Toyoda) has asked me to make a successor to the Supra as soon as possible.” This could be revisionist history, but the larger plan according to Tada has been that the GT 86/FR-S is the middle child in Toyota’s sports car strategy, with a lower-tier entry like a new MR2 and an upper-tier entry like the Supra on the company’s mind since the beginning. According to the engineer, reasoning for the sports car push is that Toyota needs to add “driving fun” to its green-car credentials, and it needs to create a stronger bond with buyers that continues beyond the dealership. Tada said both new sports cars would take at least five years to develop and Asia One predicts that the Supra (or whatever it’s eventually called) will come first, but Tada gave no indication of where it stands in the development process and he doesn’t know when they’ll be ready. We’re of the opinion that tomorrow isn’t too soon. Toyota planning Supra, MR2 successors within five years?

Filed under: Coupe , Hybrid , Performance , Technology , Scion , Subaru , Toyota We happen to like the Toyota GT86 – and, it of course goes without saying that the same applies to the Subaru BRZ and Scion FR-S , as well – just the way it is. Yes, that includes the standard 2.0-liter four-cylinder boxer engine and its 200 horsepower at 7,000 rpm. That said, a little extra power never hurt anybody, right? The most obvious way to add some punch to the GT86 would be with a turbocharger, and that has indeed long been rumored for an STI version of the BRZ. Will Toyota follow suit? According to Top Gear , the answer is no. Says GT86 chief engineer Tetsuya Tada, “I think 300bhp with a turbo and 200g/km of CO2 would be tasteless in this day and age. And a turbo would mean the loss of the GT86’s uniqueness.” Perhaps a bit harsh, but there you go. If no turbo, how will Toyota add some punch to its sports car? Possibly with a supercharger ?

Filed under: Coupe , Toyota It’s pretty safe to say that the Toyota GT 86 / Scion FR-S / Subaru BRZ joint venture has been quite a success so far. Here at Autoblog, we’ve had nothing but nice things to say about the Toyobaru coupe, and it’s a similar story elsewhere in the automotive press. Toyota has certainly been keeping track of the car’s progress, and because of the success of this project, Autocar reports that the Japanese automaker is now more keen to do joint ventures in the future. Previously, Toyota had worked with PSA Peugeot-Citro

Filed under: Coupe , Performance , Etc. , Japan , Tokyo Motor Show , Subaru , Toyota Toyota is flush with buzz surrounding the company’s new 86 sports car, and that could translate into additional performance models if the vehicle’s chief engineer has anything to say about it. The Sydney Morning Herald reports that Tetsuya Tada, the mind that brought the Toyota 86 to life, believes there’s room in the stable for two additional sports cars. Tada is quoted as saying that while the 86 is a mid-sized sports car, he’d like to see one vehicle positioned below the boxer-powered coupe as well as an additional model slotted higher in the lineup. The latter machine could potentially be a successor to the Supra , complete with a high-horsepower engine and rear wheel drive. Like the 86, that vehicle would be another collaborative project between Toyota and Subaru . Unfortunately, Tada is quick to say that nothing has been decided as of yet. Keep your fingers crossed. Toyota considering Supra successor and sub-86 sports car originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 04 Dec 2011 18:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds .